Thoughts and questions regarding just about everything while taking a daily stroll with my dog.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Globalization Of Our Landmarks

According to the New York Post Abu Dhabi is buying the Chrysler Building. This bit of news got me to thinking whether Homeland Security is on the right track worrying about illegal aliens crossing the Mexican border rather than worrying about who is buying up our landmarks and who happens to have an issue with those buyers.

Japan is a huge player. Japan based entities have interest in, if not outright ownership of, such icons of American culture as Tiffanys, Manhatten's Algonquin hotel and Exxon headquarters in Rockefeller Center, the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, even St. Clement Winery in the Napa Valley.

Our friends, the Brits, are in on Almaden wines, Ballpark Franks and French's Mustard not to mention part ownership of the Watergate complex in Washington D.C.

The West Germans are in on Allis Chalmers and Doubleday. Dubai owns New York's Essex Hotel.

We've been stewing for years about foreign automakers not only taking over our markets, but also our manufacturing facilities. We've also been stewing for years about the loss of our jobs to overseas operations that are more economically attuned to the bottom line.

Just think of it as a plus when it comes to keeping the homeland safe. I think the repercussions would be interesting if a bunch of renegade Arabs decided to smack a plane or two into the Chrysler Building!

However, if someone gets ticked off at the Brits or the Japanese would we have to worry about what's in our wine or hot dogs and mustard? We'd be okay with Nestle products because they are Swiss owned and the Swiss don't fight with anyone.